Over the last year, we've had the chance to drive two of the most exciting hatchbacks in the BMW family – the BMW M135i and the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works – but Autocar has managed to get the two corporate cousins together for a head-to-head comparison. Just like our initial impressions of the Paceman JCW, Autocar has little to complain about this new 215-horsepower hatchback... until it begins to factor in the faster, better-mannered and similarly priced M135i.

The Christmas season is getting more sideways every year. Recently, Mercedes-Benz and its AMG performance division showed us a new way to cook Christmas cookies, and now rival BMW Switzerland is presenting a new way to speed up seasonal caroling. It put four members of the Zurich Acapella Group in an M135i and instructed them to sing Jingle Bells while driver Martin Tomczyk flogged the hot hatch around the Circuit de L'Anneau du Rhin at the same time.

As part of its Paris Motor Show festivities, BMW will be debuting new all-wheel-drive versions of the European-spec 1 Series hatchback. At the show, the German automaker will show off the two AWD-equipped models that will be available at launch, the diesel-powered 120d xDrive and the range-topping M135i xDrive – a car that we've already sampled (and enjoyed) in its rear-wheel-drive configuration.